Among the many challenges faced by the visually impaired is communicating with others by writing. One (1) successful way for the visually impaired to communicate by writing is by using the Braille writing system. The Braille writing system is so widely used in the visually impaired community that it can be considered the gold standard in written communication with the visually impaired.
The Braille writing system uses a three-by-two (3×2) array of dot-based elements to depict letters, numbers and symbols. One skilled in the Braille writing system can effectively read information written in Braille. While the Braille writing system has proven itself to be highly useful, the modern computer driven world has highlighted some of its limitations. One (1) major issue is the speed at which computers can gather and disseminate information. To make effective use of computers some method of rapid text entry by the visually impaired is needed.
Recent advances in computer systems such as touch screen enabled smartphones, tablet computing platforms, e-book readers, vending machines and ATM's have enabled visually challenged people to make use of voice-to-text (read-aloud), text-to-speech and haptic feedbacks. While such advances have been highly beneficial to the visually impaired, in practice they require a steep learning curve that must be surmounted by a visually impaired person to make efficient use of every device they encounter.
In addition, the simple and most effective way to communicate in many occasions remains written. For example, text can be used to write emails, to interface and to interact with a computer system, and to generate letters and other documents. The visually impaired still have problems generating text, particularly on non-keyboard-based systems such as touch-screen enabled devices. In addition, data entry correction is a major problem for the visually impaired.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a standard Braille user interface system for use with touch screen-enabled devices. In practice that user interface should enable a Braille user to not only write text for emails, letters and other documents but also to interface with computer-based systems. Preferably such a user interface would enable a visually impaired person to make corrections to entered text. Ideally such a user interface would enable a visually impaired person to make corrections at the character, word, sentence, and paragraph levels.